Scoot blog: Stacked Deck

The Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City, NJ is suing some customers because the deck used in the game of baccarat was not pre-shuffled.

The customers won 41 consecutive hands with a total collective winning of $1.5 million and the Golden Nugget is suing claiming the winnings were not fair. Really?

First of all, if the deck was not pre-shuffled, how can the players be at fault? That is solely the casino’s fault. This is another example of the “it’s-not-my-fault” mentality in America. Secondly, the premise of gambling is “taking a chance” and it seems to me the players deserve the money they won. Both players and the casino take a chance when engaged in gambling.

Is this controversy just a reminder that casinos want everything stacked in their favor? Gambling should be fair. That means it’s fair for the house and the players. The house always has the advantage because of human nature. When you’re winning, you tend to stay in the game in hopes of winning more, but the longer you play the more the odds are stacked in the favor of the house.

I’ll go a step further. I’m against the rule that players are ejected from casinos if they count cards. If a player has the mental ability to actually count cards and wins, then shouldn’t that be part of the game? It’s like saying that those who win money and make the decision to leave with their winnings and don’t continue to play should not be allowed to play.

As long as a player is not cheating by holding a card or taking signals from another player, then players should be allowed to use their ability to count cards or to use their common sense and stop playing after winning.

Gambling is about taking a chance – and that goes for the house and the players. If the Golden Nugget played with a deck that was not pre-shuffled, and if that lead to the casino losing money, that’s just part of the game.

I don’t think anyone is wasting sympathy on a casino that loses money!